


Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic

by oopsiedaisy



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: F/F, Genderswap, Girl Direction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-08
Updated: 2015-06-08
Packaged: 2018-04-03 11:27:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,868
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4099318
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oopsiedaisy/pseuds/oopsiedaisy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>“I bet,” Harry says softly before adding, “I could help you maybe? With your magic?”.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>“Oh yeah,” Louis asks and motions her head towards the burnt flowers still smouldering in their vase. Harry's top lip quirks up on one side, “Hey. That was a real life magic show I put on for you.”</i>
</p><p>
  <i>“Well what are you gonna teach me then Houdini?”</i>
</p><p>Louis is a witch with no magical powers who joins a local coven she finds on craigslist. Harry is the earth witch convinced she can help Louis find her powers with flowers, baby mice and everything nice.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Saralisse](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Saralisse/gifts).



> For Saralisse!! You asked for supernatural + knitting clubs + teasing + my little brain cooked up a coven!au. witch babes helping witch babes!! i hope this lives up to whatever you imagined sweetheart!!

 

But Louis is 22 and it still hasn't happened.  
  
She remembers turning 13 and waiting patiently, with her braces and her awkward lopsided fringe for the glow of her powers to make her stronger. Better. An irrevocable force. That was what the lore said. That once a witch turned 13 her powers would only grow until she had finally come into them completely. Till she was a true witch.   
  
Nine birthdays had passed since then and Louis is still waiting for that spark, for that warmth. Still waiting to just know whatever it is she has always meant to.  
  
\-----  
  
Zayn is holding her laptop in one hand and peering down at Louis who is laying on their threadbare sofa trying to watch football. She has that one particular look on her face that means as soon as Louis looks her in the eye she will be forced to do whatever Zayn wants. It's not one of Zayn's powers, being able to control others, but god it feels like it sometimes.  
  
“Hello? Lou? Did you hear me?”  
  
Honestly. Man U is playing. Zayn could show a little more respect. Louis forces a fake yawn, “Yeah yeah, summat about a coven?”. Zayn turns the laptop around to show Louis the screen, “It's a craigslist ad for a coven. In our town Lou.”   
  
There's excitement in her voice which means this must be important for Zayn. Excitement doesn't typically bode well with Zayn's regular brand of aloof disenchantment. Louis finally drags her eyes away from the screen (she knows the final score already anyway, Zayn had had a premonition about it that morning and spoiled the whole thing for her).  
  
“So?”  
  
“So!!” repeats Zayn, her already big eyes bulging out of her head. They're lined with some sort of smudgey black eyeliner and her eyelashes almost reach her perfectly arched eyebrows. It's really not fair how beautiful Zayn is when most days when Louis is struggling to get all her chin length hair to fit in one semi decent bun.

“So,” continues Zayn, “That means we should go. It could be really good y'know, might help you if you met other witches.”  
  
Her eyes go soft at Louis and it almost hurts. Zayn's magic is best described as healing, passed down for generations through her family and so strong that sometimes Louis thinks there are no broken parts of her Zayn couldn't fix. It can't though. Her powers are best suited for broken bones and broken windows, not broken witches.  
  
Sometimes that's how she thinks of herself even if no one will say it aloud. That she's almost 23 and she still hasn't come into her powers. Even Fizzy can levitate things now since she got her powers last month and she's only 15. God that must be why Zayn is so keen for them to join this coven.  
  
Louis frowns up at Zayn, “Yes. Definitely will help me get my powers if I hang out with a bunch of Charmed wannabees from craigslist.”  
  
But Zayn isn't listening as she crosses the room and shrugs on her leather jacket. She's wearing all black and her long dark hair has a single blonde streak through the front. Zayn throws Louis' coat at her and it lands across her lap. “Put your coat on Lou or I will tell you who wins next week's match with donny.”  
  
Louis gasps, “You wouldn't”.

But Zayn's already levitated the remote to turn the tv off and Louis watches as her half empty tea floats from the coffee table + into the kitchen. “Come on Lou, I don't wanna be late.” She catches Louis eyes and suddenly Louis feels warmer and more content, everything Zayn is saying makes sense, everything sounds great and she th--  
  
“Okay! Okay!” Louis snaps, breaking eye contact and crankily pulling on her coat, “Just don't use your fucking powers on me.”  
  
\-----  
  
The address for the coven meeting was only few blocks from their flat but they still drive there anyway. It's almost 7pm and Louis' hands are cold as she nervously winds her passenger window up and down. Zayn seems to sense her anxiety and stills a hand on her knee as they wait at a traffic light, “Relax okay, I've got a good feeling about this.”  
  
Louis allows Zayn's power to wash over her and sooth her nerves. The light turns green and she leaves the window open and enjoys the flood of cold night air as it fills the car. They park outside the apartment and wait in the car while Zayn smokes a cigarette. Louis' leg bounces up and down nervously the whole time as she tries to scope out the coven's house.  
  
The house is almost covered in flowers, wrapping around the porch and creeping up the walls. It's painted a light teal colour with purple shutters and Louis can see at least 4 wind chimes. It's nice though, it feels like a home even from where they're parked on the street.  
  
Zayn flicks her butt into the gutter and they walk up the crooked pathway to the front door and ring the doorbell. There's a pair of glitter covered boots next to the welcome mat but before Louis can say anything the front door is being opened a beautiful and very tall blonde girl is greeting them.  
  
“Hello!” she beams at them, “I'm so glad you made it!”. She's wearing a fox print dress and dark green heels so she's a good 2 feet taller than Louis. Her curled hair and red lipstick are perfect though which Louis can both respect and envy. She turns to Zayn first, “I'm Taylor. You must be Zayn.” She pulls Zayn into a hug before turning to Louis and doing the same, “And you must be Louis!”.  
  
“Um” is all Louis can say from where she is wrapped up in Taylor's arms. She pulls back and laughs, “Oh right. I forgot. I have the power of premonition.”  
  
“She's a know it all, that's what she is” says a voice behind them. Louis turns around to see a gangly tall man with a bright pink quiff lumbering up the pathway towards them. He's wearing a sweater with a bunny on it and has 3 bottles of red win tucked under his arm. Louis likes him already.  
  
“Hey now,” says Taylor ushering the three of them through the doorway, “I didn't need my powers to know you would turn up with a bunch of cheap wine did I?”. He only scoffs and kicks off his shoes before heading off towards what Louis thinks is the kitchen. Taylor turns back to Louis, “That's Nick. He is the worst. But also the best. Also the only male witch in our coven. And he NEVER shuts up about it.”  
  
“I heard that!” Nick shouts from the kitchen and Taylor giggles and walks them through to her lounge room. Her house is impeccably decorated, filled with chaise sofas, dream catchers and antique paintings of cats. A bunch of mix match chairs are arranged in a haphazard circle in the lounge room and some candles a burning a sweet sickly scent. There are two other girls in the lounge though, both drinking from matching teacups.  
  
“Oh hello!” says one girl with soft brown eyes and short brown hair. She looks younger than Louis has ever felt. “I'm Liam and this is Niall” she explains gesturing to the girl next to her with bleached blonde hair tucked up under a snapback. Taylor introduces them as Zayn and Louis and they take a seat in the circle.   
  
“We'll start in about 10 minutes and you can all introduce yourselves properly,” she explains before heading back towards the kitchen to get everyone snacks and wine.

Seemingly from nowhere a cat creeps out from a behind a baby grand piano and stares pointedly at Louis. It's got flat ears and and big round eyes and they're boring right into Louis's soul. The cat knows. The cat knows Louis hasn't come into her powers and she doesn't belong here.  
  
“Louis?”  
  
She snaps her gaze away from the cat to Liam who is calling your name. “I was just asking if you'd been here before,” Liam repeats.

Louis shakes her head, “Oh no. This is my first time.” She can't shake the glare of the cat across the room, “At a coven. Not like with sex.”  
  
A bark of laughter comes from behind Louis and she twists around in her chair to see another girl with her hand clasped over her own mouth to cover up the embarrassing sound. Louis can feel every part of her being blush with embarrassment.

And god is this girl beautiful. She's got long brown curls pushed messily back of her face and she's wearing the tightest jeans Louis has ever seen with metallic gold ankle boots. So at least Louis knows who the glitter boots in the doorway belong to. To the girl with the doe eyes and impossibly pink cupid's bow who is a good foot taller than her.  
  
The girl quirks her head to Louis and it's only then that Louis realises she hasn't said anything. Louis has heard myths about witches whose power was their beauty, who had the ability to render men speechless and incapacitated just with a smile. Maybe this girl is descended from those witches and sent here to torture Louis somehow. Louis wants to say this but all she does is continue gaping at the girl.

Luckily Taylor comes back into the room with Nick and they all take their seats along with the pretty girl. When Louis turns back around Zayn mouths _“smooth”_ to her. She spares a glance to that fucking cat and it's still staring at her but now it seems even more superior. Everything is going great.  
  
Taylor stands up and clears her throat, “I want to thank everyone for coming to our coven meeting tonight. I have made scones this week so please help yourself.” She gestures to a small mountain of golden scones with cream and jam on her dining table.  
  
“We also have two new people joining us tonight, Louis and Zayn, so I was thinking we could all go around and introduce ourselves to start with. So I'm Taylor and I am a white witch. I wanted to create a safe space for witches in our town and that's kinda where this coven came from.”  
  
She smiles warmly at Louis in particular. God is it that obvious?

“Oh!” she adds as afterthought, “I also play guitar and I love antiques and translating ancient druid spells!”  
  
Liam speaks up next, “I'm Liam. I only came into my powers about a year ago and I didn't know that witches were even real until it happened.” She laughs at that, like its still crazy to her that she's even here in a room full of witches talking about magic on a Wednesday evening. It is kinda crazy Louis thinks. “So yeah I'm pretty new to this still.”  
  
“Liam has learnt so much though,” Taylor pipes up, “And has helped me with a few of my spells too.” Louis can see it then, how Taylor is so clearly destined to be a coven leader. So filled with love and warmth for others. How nice it must be to know yourself like that Louis muses.  
  
Niall introduces herself next, scone crumbs clinging to the corner of her mouth. She explains that she moved her recently from Ireland and misses her old coven a lot, that she mostly practices conjuring and telekinesis. “Just for pranks and stuff,” she explains, “Nothing serious.”  
  
As they continue around the circle (Nick blabbering on about his own witchy experiences at an all boy's school) Louis feels herself pointedly not looking at the girl from earlier. She focuses instead on her stare off with The Cat. It's The Cat now, things have escalated.  
  
“Do you wanna go next Harry?” Taylor asks and the pretty girl nods. She sitting two people away from Louis and she finally has a reason to look directly at her. Harry waves weakly, a hundred rings on her fingers and her sweater pulled down over her hands, “Hiii. I'm Harry. I live here with Taylor.”  
  
Her voice is deeper than Louis had anticipated and it shoots through her like lightening, she feels rooted to the spot as if nothing could drag her away from this moment.

“I don't really know how I would describe my powers,” Harry explains, talking impossibly slow, “But I like natural magic a lot. Just like working with the Earth and plants and stuff. It helps me feel more connected I guess.”  
  
She's blushing at her own admission and Louis is so charmed. Louis is fucked. She can feel it all over her face. Harry sits down and turns towards her, “Louis?”  
  
“Um,” Louis stammers standing to her feet. She feels panicked and can see Zayn using her powers to try and calm her down from across the room, her brows furrowed in concentration as she tries to soothe Louis' uneasiness. 

“I'm Louis. And I, uh, I don't really know what my powers are. Because I haven't fully come into them yet. So yeah there's that.”  
  
She takes her seat and prepares herself for the pitying looks she is accustomed to from other witches when they learn about her powers. The sad eyes and the “it's okay, most witches don't come into their powers until their 18 anyway” and “it happens differently for everyone”.

But no one looks at her any differently, Taylor just smiles warmly at her and thanks her before they continue on with their meeting.  
  
\------------------------------------------------------  
  
They spend the rest of the coven meeting doing team building activities that Taylor has planned. Mostly they just levitate each other and do magic trust falls in the middle of the lounge room. Louis lays down on the crochet rug with her eyes clothes as she slowly feels herself starting to rise towards the ceilings.  
  
“Just stay calm,” Taylor reassures her when Louis opens one eye to peak down at the other witches. Louis shuts her eyes and suddenly feels herself falling, only a dozen other hands grab her before she can crack her head on the floor. Louis opens her eyes again and finds herself staring upside down at Harry.  
  
“Y'alright?” Harry asks but Louis is staring straight up her nose from this angle. No bats in the cave she notes. Louis nods quickly. She can feel how Harry's hands span across her entire back right before she helps her back up and onto her feet  
  
After a few more trust activities (“Honestly,” Nick had asked as they played light as a feather stiff as a board, “This is so The Craft. We're so 90's right now.”) they call it a night. Taylor thanks everyone for coming, for the 17 th time, and says they're welcome to take home as many scones as they like. Louis helps Harry to move the furniture back as Niall shoves soggy scones in her pockets and Zayn chats with Liam about the healing power of fungi versus moss.   
  
“You don't have to do that Louis,” Harry says as she flicks a finger towards the scattered cushions in the corner and they neatly arrange themselves on the end of the sofa. She looks at Louis so softly where she's trying to drag a very old and very heavy rocking chair back towards the fireplace.

Pity, Louis thinks, she pities me. Which isn't the first time. Louis has gotten laid by other witches who felt bad about her “situation”. This is worse somehow, because Harry's hands are so kind as she helps Louis lift and carry the chair by hand when she could have done it much easier using magic.  
  
Harry is smiling all dumb and sweet at her as she flicks behind her without looking. Louis thinks she meant to light the fancy vanilla and anise candle on the mantle but instead she has lit a vase of flowers on fire.

Louis squeaks out a “Fuck, Harry!” and throws a cold cup of tea on the flowers to put the fire out. Harry turns and looks at the charred flowers, “Oops. Sorry about that.”  
  
The cat from earlier jumps up onto the mantle and sniffs warily at the smoking peonies before turning and giving Louis a very pointed look. “Hey,” Harry says sharply and Louis flinches for a moment thinking it's directed at her, “Don't look at her like that Meredith”. The cat, Meredith apparently, focuses her scowl on Harry this time before jumping off the mantle and scurrying off.  
  
“M'sorry,” Harry offers, “Was Meredith giving you trouble tonight?”.  
  
“The cat?” Louis asks, slightly dumbfounded.  
  
Harry nods earnestly. She has a small star necklace hanging low on her chest and a mermaid tattooed on her forearm. “She is a right terror. Can be a bit nasty when it comes to, uh, pure witches. I can't imagine the chaos she has caused in her past lives.”  
  
Pure. Louis had never thought of herself as impure before.  
  
All the furniture is back in place so Louis tries to look busy while she waits for Zayn to finish chatting. Louis shrugs her shoulders, “It's alright. Have gotten worse from far meaner cats before.”   
  


“I bet,” Harry says softly before adding, “I could help you maybe? With your magic?”.  
  
“Oh yeah,” Louis asks and motions her head towards the burnt flowers still smouldering in their vase. Harry's top lip quirks up on one side, “Hey. That was a real life magic show I put on for you.”  
  
“Well what are you gonna teach me then Houdini?”  
  
Harry folds her hands behind her back and rocks up on the toes of her awful gold boots. “Maybe just different magic from what you're used to. I've been doing a lot of spells with earth and nature and it's pretty powerful stuff. I think it could really help you to connect with your powers.”  
  
Louis considers running around in the woods making sacrifices and smearing mud on her bare chest. Louis considers watching Harry run around in the woods making sacrifices and smearing mud on her bare chest. “Okay,” she agrees, “It can't hurt I guess”.  
  
Harry beams happily and all the lightbulbs in the room glow brighter for a moment with her emotion. “Harry!” Taylor shouts from the kitchen, “Keep the happiness to yourself or you'll blow the fusebox again!”. Louis feels like she could power all the lights in the city with the way Harry looks at her.  
  
\--------------------------------  
  
Harry texts her a few days later when she's at work. _Hiiii are you busy on Sunday? x. H_  
The store is pretty empty, people don't really need candles on a Friday morning so she types out a reply under the counter. _nope. have you got some weird witch lesson planned for us??_  
  
 _maybe..._ Harry texts back a moment later.  
  
And then _just be at my house by 1pm + be ready!!_  
  
Followed by a bunch of heart emojis and one single prawn.  
  
\-----------------------------  
  
Harry's witch lesson is as follows: first they went to Whole Foods and purchased a bunch of organic cinnamon and rock salt, then they went to the library where Harry borrowed a bunch of dusty old books on the Occult that she is making Louis read and now they are perusing the aisles of Costco.  
  
Harry puts a stack of plastic tubs into their trolley. “Disposable cauldrons,” she assures Louis.  
  
Next Harry grabs a barrel of dried rosemary, “To ward off bad spirits,” she explains.  
  
She's wearing a flannel shirt with only three buttons done up with a lacy bra underneath and dirty old brown boots. Her hair is tucked up in a fat bun but a few stray hairs stick to her forehead as she lifts two giant pumpkins into the trolley. “Halloween decorations. Also I want to make some pumpkin spice muffins for our next coven meeting.”  
  
Louis rolls her eyes and continues pushing their trolley. She's pretending, rather half heartedly, to not be enjoying this but it's actually been a very pleasant afternoon listening to Harry natter on about the healing powers of crystals and sandalwood. Also watching the way Harry's shirt rose up as she reached up to grab something from a high shelf to reveal the soft swell of her wide hips. A very pleasant afternoon indeed.  
  
“Is this all Harry?” Louis asks with faux annoyance, “Or should we head to Ikea to get magical flatpack broomsticks?”. Harry giggles and dumps an armful of wooden spoons in the trolley, “Nope. We're all stocked up on supplies now. Just one more stop.”  
  
The final stop turns out to be a rather dingy and unloved antiques store. The shop window is too dusty and grimy to see through and Louis tucks her elbows in as not to touch anything as they move through the tiny aisles. “Harry,” she whispers even though they're the only customers in the store, “I don't understand why we're here”.  
  
Harry hands Louis a small silver spoon with an embossed yellow bird on the handle. “Antiques are magic because the powers of those who loved them can become imprinted on them after they die,” Harry explains in a quiet whisper, “So it's good to collect powerful antiques and surround yourself with their magic. Taylor taught me all about it.”  


The silver spoon feels heavy in Louis hand and she considers it closer for a moment, inspecting the faded bird on the handle and the deep brassy scuff marks. It doesn't feel any different from a regular spoon. Louis really is a hopeless witch.  
  
Harry's hand envelopes Louis' for a moment and she feels a small spark in her fingertips. It's different from the warm safety of Zayn's powers. More like the sensation of cold salty air licking at her face when she had visited the seaside as a child. The gut wrenching awe she always feels when watching fireworks. Both of them clutching onto the faded old spoon, “Doesn't it feel special to you?” Harry asks. And it does, it does.  
  
\------------------------------  
  
Louis' life follows a new pattern after that. Coven meetings on Wednesdays, Witch Lessons with Harry on Sundays, texting with Harry falls in between. “You like her,” Zayn says one afternoon when they're smoking a bowl on their tiny balcony, “Just admit it.”  
  
Being high is the closest Louis ever feels to coming into her powers. Ethereal and light and so far removed from the mortal world. “I don't wish to comment on it Zaynie,” she replies, struggling to hold in her giggles. But pretty soon they're both proper laughing and Louis has to scrub her hands over face again and again to stop.  
  
It's complicated with Harry. She is attracted to her of course and she thinks maybe Harry is attracted to her as well. But Harry has come into her powers and her magic is so different and so much softer than Louis'. It makes her feel vulnerable when Harry just configures her coat smaller so it fits Louis in a simple flick of her wrist when Louis struggles so much to do even the simplest spells. Harry bleeds kind and loving magic and all of Louis' magic is so aggressive and difficult to hold on to.  
  
It's nice though, the way Harry's magic tries to wrap around Louis and hold her safe. It had been so nice the afternoon before when they had lain on the thick rug in Harry's bedroom and translated ancient lore about the birth of witches and discussed Harry's plans after she finished uni. (She wants to be an anthropologist. Louis didn't even know what that was but Harry had patiently explained it and answered all of Louis' questions).  
  
“Witches have existed for centuries,” Harry had explained, “But I'm mostly interested in documenting modern witches. Like online coven chatrooms. A spells wikipedia. Skype Seances. We're just so powerful y'know and I feel like this is the first generation of witches who've been able to connect all over the globe.”   
  
Louis had watched her, enraptured. Harry seemed to notice and had blushed, “Sorry I'm going on about it again aren't I?”. Louis rested her face on the soft wool of the rug, it smelled like a thousand different perfumes and she thought of all the other girls who had lain on this rug with Harry. “No,” she answers finally, “I love listening to you talk about it.”  
  
Seemingly pleased with this answer Harry burrowed in closer to Louis' side and laid her own face down on the rug, eye to eye with Louis but just a few inches apart. Her doe eyes doing one big slow blink after another, “I'm so glad we met.”  
  
Back on the balcony Louis pulls Zayn's snapback down lower over her face, “It's nothing. Honestly. Just leave it.”  
  
\---------------------------------------  
  
The next Sunday Harry asks Louis to meet her at the pet shop near her house. Like most of Harry's “lessons” she refuses to tell Louis exactly what she has planned but did ask if Louis had any allergies beforehand which is worrying. Even for Harry.  
  
Louis spots Harry's pink bicycle chained up to a parking metre from across the parking lot. It's late autumn now and Louis has a hoodie under her denim jacket but Harry is wearing a very short pink skirt with her bare legs crossed over as she waits for Louis on the curb. God, Louis thinks Harry's legs are long enough to wrap around her twice. She'd really like to test her theory out.  
  
She pushes the thought from her head because she told Zayn it's nothing, so it's going to be nothing. She can just be friends with Harry. Harry in her very tiny pink skirt and leopard print boots weaving a loose daisy chain. “Where did you get daisies from?” Louis asks and Harry smiles up at her lightening fast, “I swear any sort of living plant has shrivelled up for the winter by now.”  
  
But Harry just stands up and wraps her daisy chain around her own neck, once, twice before finally connecting the two ends into one big loop, “Just magic I guess.” Louis has to roll her eyes at that as they head into the pet shop wordlessly. It's very clean inside but has that pet store smell, like disinfectant and shredded newspaper and sad puppies. Louis shivers in her jacket.  
  
“What are we doing here?” Louis asks as Harry bends down to tap on the glass. All the kittens inside rush over and begin scratching at where Harry's hand is resting on the glass. Harry giggles and continues to play with them as they climb over each other trying to get closer to her. It's her powers, Louis knows that, but she can also imagine a mortal Harry being followed around by baby animals and making flowers grow in the middle of winter.  
  
“We're going to find your familiar,” Harry replies like it's the most obvious thing in the world. Louis is aware of familiars, magical animal companions whose purpose is to help witches but she hardly thinks they'll find one here at PetsSmart next to a giant bin filled with discount dog treats. “Um, Harry,” she begins, “I don't know if me getting a magical kitten is the best idea for helping with my powers.”  
  
Harry scoffs at that and stands up, her knees creaking slightly. “Obviously not a kitten Lou. I'm thinking something with scales,” Harry picks up a rubber mouse toy and inspects it closely, “How do you feel about ...lizards?”.

“Not great” Louis squeaks snatching the toy from Harry. “Well a fish then maybe?” Harry asks as they walk towards the aquariums and terrariums at the back of the store, “They have scales right?”.  
  
PetsSmart sells a vast variety of animals Louis learns including rabbits, Japanese fighting fish and snakes. Harry has a very large snake draped around her shoulders and it is happily nuzzling into her while Louis hides behind its cage. “Lou,” Harry begs, inching closer to her as Louis inches further away, “Honestly just pet her okay?”. She shakes her head over and over again, “Get that thing away from me right now”.  
  
It continues on like that, Harry cooing over gross stick insects and softly kissing hermit crabs on their shells while Louis frowns and refuses to touch any of the yuckier pets. “Harry I just don't think any of these animals are for me,” Louis explains as Harry sadly tucks a parrot back into it's cage. Harry gives her the puppy dog eyes which are actually a lot more painful than actual puppy dog's eyes as she learnt earlier when a whole litter of beagle puppies had licked her face and bit her nose.  
  
One of the shop assistants carries a cage of mice past them to the terrarium where the snake (“Sprinkles” Harry had named him) lived. “What are you doing with those mice?” Harry asked shutting the bird cage and the shop assistant explained that Sprinkles diet consisted of live mice. “Oh,” Harry replied trying to remain calm but her eyes went huge and watery at the tiny little mouse in the man's hand and Louis could see how hard she was trying not to cry as the mouse tried to wriggle free.  
  
“Um,” Louis interjected, “Can I, uh, buy that mouse?”.

“M'am these mice aren't for sale. We have much nicer mice you can purchase.” Louis had seen those mice earlier, sleek and white and running endlessly on their mouse wheel. They were nothing like the little brown mouse struggling to get free from the shop assistant's hand. “I don't care,” Louis explained, “I want that mouse.”  
  
So she bought the stupid mouse. And a little pink cage for him. And a little mouse house with toys. “I like him so much!” Harry cooed as they waited to checkout, she kept pressing her face up against the cage, “He feels so special! Don't you think?”.  
  
But everyone felt special to Harry. Even Louis. That was the whole problem, everyone was so important and magic and special. Even baby mice. Even witches with no powers.  
  
They pay for Cinnamon Sugar (Harry's name. Again.) and slowly walk back to Louis's apartment, Louis has the mouse cage tucked under her arm and Harry is wheeling her bike and blabbering on about familiars. “Honestly Lou, I think he'll be good for you. It's really important to meditate or try summoning with your familiar. It'll bring out both your powers. I've been doing a lot of research into it.”  
  
“You have?” Louis asks. Harry nods, “Yeah, just been trying to find anything to help with your powers. Mostly just familiars and spells and any sort of ritual I can find. There's a lot of stuff out there y'know.”  
  
It's never occurred to her before that Harry may be putting serious time and effort into their lessons. That it's more to her than just the weekly hang outs Louis sees them as where they flirt and tease each other and eat ice cream a lot. It feels too heavy all of a sudden, like everything between them is a bit too real.   
  
“You don't have to do that,” Louis starts, “I know you're busy with school and stuff”.

They're standing outside of Louis and Zayn's apartment and it's early evening so Louis gives Harry her hoodie to wear on ride home. “I want to though,” Harry explains, she zips the hoodie up to under her chin and gives Louis a big gummy smile. She kisses Louis goodbye on the cheek before cycling off and Louis stands there, feeling cold with her familiar tucked under her arm. “It's nothing,” she tells herself. “It's nothing”, over and over like a spell until it becomes real.  
  
\-------------------------------------

Louis takes Cinnamon Sugar out of his cage and sits cross legged on her bedroom floor. She lifts the small mouse to her eye line and they hold each other's gaze, “Okay, look, I know I'm a bit shit but like Harry wants us to do this okay?” At the mention of Harry Cinnamon Sugar begins to sniff around hopefully. Louis knows the feeling.  
  
She holds the mouse very gently in her hands and closes her eyes before beginning the incantation for one of the oldest and simplest spells she knows. One her mother used to do when she was younger at home with lots of candles and dried flowers to try and speak with the souls of all the witches in their family who had died. To call on them for help with Louis' powers.

Louis has tried to perform this spell dozens of times now, too many times to say aloud and she repeats the tired words over and over again with her tiny mouse in her hands. She opens one eye and the paper from her desk slowly begins to swirl around them like a vortex, a hundred different pieces of paper like a snow storm. She keeps chanting until she can't see anything but white.  
  
\---------------------------------  
  
At the next Coven Meeting Taylor has made pins for everyone. A tiny witch hat made from a shiny purple metal and Niall wears one in each ear like earrings. “Y'know” Nick says with a white wine in one hand and his pin in the other, his hair is emerald green this week, “I really wish we had gone with the coven name Fright Club.”  
  
“Nick! For the last time we are not becoming a magical fight club!”  
  
This is not the first time Nick and Taylor have had this argument.  
  
“Alright,” Nick says raising one hand weakly, “Don't get all shouty. 'M just sayin it would be fun to start a sorta anarchic witch cult.” Harry rolls her eyes at Louis from where she's sitting across the room. They never sit together at meetings because Harry “giggles too much” according to Liam and Taylor and it ruined their séance. It's not Louis fault Harry had mispronounced something wrong in latin from giggling too hard and almost summoned a dark spirit. Okay, maybe it was kind of her fault for tickling Harry under her armpits.  
  
Louis stays after the meeting and Taylor teaches her how to make fudge from scratch. Louis measures out the ingredients by hand and Taylor enchants the wooden spoon to stir the mixture while they chop up dark chocolate. “So,” Taylor starts, “You and Harry...”

Louis stops chopping immediately, “Taylor.” There is laughing from the next room. Harry, Liam and Zayn are drying out rosemary and sage over the fire and whole house smells of it. Taylor raises her hands in defence, “Hey I don't have to be psychic to see what is going on there. Although it does help that I am psychic.”

“I should have seen that one coming.”  
  
“Well I sure did.”  
  
The cauldron of fudge mixture boils between them as Louis adds the last ingredients. “I don't want to fuck things up with her.”  
  
Taylor nods like she knows, because well she probably does. Being surrounded by witches is exhausting sometimes. “She's not as vulnerable as you think,” Taylor replies, “She's smarter and stronger than most witches her age. I know she comes across as being sweet and light all the time but she has known great hurt as well.”  
  
The rich warm smell of fudge is overwhelming; its incessant bubbling the only sound in the room as they begin to pour it into trays to set. “I just think that it's important that you know that,” is all Taylor says.  
  
\-----------------------------------------  
  
Louis tries more spells after the success she first had with Cinnamon Sugar but nothing happens. She tries to call on how she felt that night after they had come from the pet shop and performed her first summoning spell alone but all she remembers is the subtle pulse of HarryHarryHarry under her skin from the walk home, from when Harry had started to cry in the pet store, how wet her lips where when she kissed Louis goodbye.

It's more powerful than enchanted spoons and magical mice, how she feels about Harry feels greater than the whole universe and she wants it to stop. She wants to just go back to being powerless Louis because it was safer being almost mortal instead.  
  
\----------------------------------------  
  
For Halloween the coven gathers in the cemetery a few block from Taylor and Harry's house at 11pm. It's absolutely freezing out and Louis wraps herself up in as many layers as she can, waddling around like a freshly swaddled newborn. At the cemetery gates Zayn kisses each of the witches on the forehead and the moment her lips touch Louis' forehead she feels warmth spread quickly from her head to her toes. It's one of her favourite spells that Zayn can do.  
  
Harry has her curls tucked up under a beanie and she sets out a hundred candles in a loose circle around them, flicking her fingers lazily and lighting them all at once. In the dim light the cemetery seems creepier than before. Distorted shadows stretch across the gravestones and Louis can't see anything past the candles; it's so quiet except for the wind. Louis peers in and reads one of the gravestones.  _Here Lies Fluffy.  
  
_ “Um,” Louis asks, “Is this a pet cemetery?”  
  
“Yeah, why?” replies Taylor from where she is setting up her travel cauldron. She's wearing a fur coat and red lipstick, it's very glamorous and spooky Louis decides. She shrugs her shoulders, “Dunno. Just like don't want to summon the spirit of someone's dead cat y'know.”  
  
Harry giggles and presses her hand to Louis' cheek, “Aw. Are you scared Lou?”. The way Harry is cupping her face, it's so close and it's so cold and she can't help but lean into the touch. It feels weirdly intimate, almost painful just to have Harry touch her face. They stay like that for a moment, Harry running her thumb over Louis' cheekbone over and over in the dark before Liam clears her throat behind them.  
  
“Sorry, it's just we're about to start,” Liam explains and gestures towards the summoning circle. Harry pulls her hand away but tucks it into Louis pocket as they join the rest of the coven. “To keep them warm,” she explains when Louis shoots her a confused look.  
  
The cauldron in the centre of the circle boils a rich and vibrant orange, like glitter and orange juice. Taylor stirs it slowly before lifting a spoonful of the brew to her mouth and drinking it. They all drink the potion and Louis feels it go heavy in her gut like an anchor and then suddenly she is weightless. Completely free. And the summoning begins.  
  
Ancient latin slips from the witches' mouths as they hold hands tightly, Niall's sweaty hand in Louis left's hand and Harry's in her right. She keeps watching the sky and waiting; “It's not gonna happen,” Louis think, “It's never gonna happen.” And then the night sky explodes into a thousand different stars, silvery iridescent images skimming across the sky just for them.  
  
The stars move together into shapes, into figures of cats and deceased witches, of fire and death and birth and renewed life. Louis watches open mouthed as the scenes paint themselves out for them in tiny beams of light. “It's our history,” Harry whispers into Louis' ear and she knows, has heard of the spell before but never imagined how beautiful it would be to see.  
  
In the sky the stars form the mirror image of their coven, a circle of witches made from burning suns reflected above them and the blood rushes to Louis' ears as at once all the candles blow out and the stars go dark. The spell is over and Louis feels whole. She is surrounded by the kindest and best witches she's ever known. Harry holds her hand the rest of the night. “To keep them warm,” Louis repeats back to her.  
  
\-----------------------------------  
  
A few days later Harry texts Louis.  _Meet me at the abandoned lot on Fredrick St at 4pm. Xx H._   
  
So Louis drags her sorry self out of bed and showers and puts on makeup. She has felt drained since Halloween, unable to get out of bed or buy groceries. It's becoming a pattern after every coven meeting or witch lesson. When she's with other witches she feels so strong and so connected and then once she's on her own she is empty and powerless and more mortal than ever.  
  
“Do you ever feel that way Z?” she asks while they eat cereal at their tiny kitchen table. Zayn shrugs, “Not really. I always feel pretty sick after coven meetings. Just like in touch with my witch self or whatever.” Louis rolls her eyes dramatically, “Ya witch self hey?” she scoffs around her mouth full of cereal and Zayn flicks a cheerio at her.  
  
Louis catches the bus to meet Harry and see's her already waiting for her at the bus stop. “You look nice today Lou,” Harry says as Louis steps off the bus. Louis knows she looks nice today okay, she is wearing her yellow sundress from Ted Baker that she only saves for special occasions and her thighs look amazing because she put body shimmer on them. “Oh stop, I look the same as ever,” she lies.

“I know,” Harry says, “You always look nice.”  
  
Harry is wearing sunglasses, big cat eye ones but Louis can still see her smirking behind them as they stroll down the street to the empty lot. It's a residential area, mostly just nice houses with picket fences and then the empty lot at the end of the block. It's mostly dirt and broken glass and probably dead bodies, all surrounded by a wire fence with a rusty padlock on the front.  
  
“So,” Louis asks as they lean against the fence,” “What's your big plan Sabrina?”. Harry's face breaks into the biggest dumbest smile, “Hey. I love Sabrina.” Harry doesn't answer Louis though, just throws her bag over the fence. It lands with a thud on the other side. “Um what are you doing?” Louis asks because okay she did not dress appropriately to be climbing over fences okay. She wanted to look cute today.  
  
“Climbing over the fence,” Harry says dumbly, “Come on, up you go.” She wraps her arms around Louis' thighs and lifts her, Louis scrambles and grabs onto the fence wildly as Harry slowly pushes her up the fence until she is standing on Harry's shoulder. She knows that Harry can see right up her skirt right now, there is absolutely no way Harry isn't staring directly at her knickers right now but is far too polite to say anything. She wanted to look fuckable today okay but not like this. Louis pulls herself over the fence, and slowly drops to the ground on the other side. “I guess I picked the wrong day to look nice huh,” she offers.  
  
Harry begins to climb the fence now, “I don't know, you still looked pretty nice from where I was standing”. Louis has no answer for that, just scrubs her hands over her face to hide her embarrassment as Harry climbs down beside her. “Okay so now what?” Louis asks and Harry just shushes her and turns back to the empty lot.  
  
She begins muttering quietly under her breath. A spell Louis can't hear and doesn't know, she's never seen Harry cast on her own before. Her forehead is wrinkled in concentration as she repeats the incantation, Louis would laugh at how serious she's being if she wasn't in quiet awe. The soil in the lot begins to stir as handfuls of green shoots burst through, tiny plants slowly rising from the dirt and growing into sunflowers before Louis' eyes. Hundreds and hundreds of bright yellow sunflowers growing from nothing and swallowing up the lot around them.   
  
It goes on forever or maybe for ten minutes and then Harry stops and smiles at Louis. “They're for you.”  
  
And Louis knows now, knows that she is in love with Harry. And that she will ruin this. And that she should run from the lot and never look back. But she can't bring herself to do it.

“Thank you. I love them.”  
  
Harry seems pleased with her response and bends down to open the bag she threw over the fence. Inside are some slightly crushed sandwiches and juice boxes. “Sorry,” Harry explains pulling a blanket out of the bag as well and laying it out in the middle of the sunflowers, “They got a bit squished but I thought we could have a picnic.”  
  
Louis is still standing there dumbly in the field of sunflowers Harry grew for her because she can't stop her brain from processing it over and over: _you love her and she grew sunflowers for you, you love her and she grew sunflowers for you, you love her and she grew sunflowers for her_.  
  
“Y'alright?” Harry asks from where she is sitting and drinking a juice box, she staring up at Louis with big worried eyes. Louis nods and forces herself to sit down beside her, wordlessly eating the sandwich Harry offers her. She's being quiet and she knows it's weird, can feel strange tears prickling up behind her eyes.  
  
Harry clears her throat suddenly, “I used to help my Mum's flowers to grow when I was little. She, uh, they didn't know what I was. What I am.” And her voice is sadder and more far away than Louis has ever heard it but she continues talking.  
  
“I would do it at night so no one would know that I was a witch. I'd help all the flowers in our garden to grow and everyone would always say what a beautiful garden my Mum had. All year round too.” Harry laughs sadly at her own joke. “When I told my family about my powers, they were so. So upset. And I tried to explain that my powers weren't a bad thing. How could they be bad if they helped to grow all those flowers?”  
  
And Louis understands all of sudden why Harry always surrounds herself with plants, why she believes in nature and earth magic and only doing good with her powers. Why she grew sunflowers for Louis. Why she offered to help Louis with her magic.  
  
Louis doesn't say anything, just presses her hands to the only empty piece of dirt left in the lot. She stays quiet for a moment, praying for her weak powers to work just this once.

And they do. A small bunch of daisies slowly grows up from where her sweaty palms are pressed into the soil. “For you.” Louis repeats and Harry smiles at her like she is the sun. In her yellow sundress, surrounded by hundreds of sunflowers, maybe that is how she looks to Harry.  
  
\-----------------------------  
  
After that afternoon Louis feels herself trying to distance herself from Harry. She stops replying to every one of Harry's stupid texts. Starts picking up extra shifts at work. She doesn't even show up to their coven meeting, calling at the last minute and telling Harry she's got the flu.  
  
“Get better,” Harry had said over the phone. She sounded disappointed and Louis felt her own guilt almost strangle her when Harry sent Zayn home with homemade chicken noodle soup for her and a handwritten get well card. Louis read it over and over all night before tucking it under her mattress.  
  
It's awful of her to push Harry away and punish her like this and Louis knows it but she can't help it. When she's with Harry everything feels different and sometimes it's good-different but mostly it's scary-different. Louis comes from a long line of witches and she knows there is real evil in the world and that monsters exist but the only thing that really scares her is how she feels when she's with Harry.   
  
Louis calls Harry from her kitchen and fakes being sick to get out of their witch lesson. She can tell Harry isn't really buying it but she still says it's okay and wishes Louis well, tells her she'll drop some lemon and ginger chest rub on her doorstep later. Louis can already feel Zayn's glare on her back as she hangs up the phone. “What the fuck Louis,” is all she says.  
  
Louis shrugs her shoulders, “Just leave it okay.” Zayn leans against the doorframe with her arms crossed and Louis can't get out of the room, out of this conversation without pushing past her, “You're being a right cunt to her and she doesn't even know why. It's fucked. You're not like this and you know it.”  
  
“Aren't I?” Louis asks angrily, gripping the edge of the sink, “Cause I think I've made it pretty clear what a shit person I am.”  
  
“Don't do that, don't say you're shit when you're not." 

That's the thing about Zayn, she knows Louis too well. Louis desperately wants Zayn to kiss her forehead and use her powers to ease the upset constantly pooling in her gut. Louis can't bring herself to look up from the ugly brown tiles in their kitchen, “I really like her Z.”  
  
“I know.”  
  
“And I'm scared I'm gonna fuck it up. Gonna fuck everything with the coven up.”  
  
“I know.”  
  
Louis looks up, “Oh yeah? Who gave you the power of premonition?”. Zayn rolls her eyes but still walks across the kitchen to envelope Louis in a warm hug, kisses her forehead just how Louis had hoped she would. She feels her uneasiness slowly dissipating.   
  
“You're not going to ruin this okay,” she whispers against Louis' forehead, “You just need to be real with her.” Louis nods pitifully, “I know. It's just hard y'know. She's so great. They're all so great.”  
  
Zayn hums in agreement, “Guess we're pretty lucky we found our coven huh?”  
  
Her coven. It feels right to think of them all that way. Taylor and her scheduled summonings and knitted broomstick cover. Liam and her spell book filled with post-it notes, always scribbling down their meeting minutes. Niall and her iron cauldron stomach that can stand any potion, always enchanting Taylor's cat to speak in an Irish accent. Even Nick and his enchanted margarita recipe with real dragon fly wings and his lavender quiff. They're her witches. They're her coven that she's been searching for her whole life.  
  
And Harry. Harry with her stupid butterfly tattoo that she enchants to flutter around her stomach and her sheer shirts that never hide it. Harry and her Stevie Nicks obsession, constantly warbling Rhiannon anytime Louis will let her and her moth eaten shawls. Harry with her sunflowers and her big hands and her soft hips, saying “They're for you,” over and over in Louis' chest like it's her own special spell.  
  
\--------------  
  
It's Sunday evening and shortly after 11pm Louis' phone buzzes under her thigh. She's in her bed watching Netflix and she can tell from the personalised ringtone (Witchy Woman – The Eagles) that it's Harry calling. Louis pauses the episode of Scandal she's currently invested in to answer, “Hullo? Harry?”.  
  
“Lou!” Harry says and she's talking much faster than usual, “Can you come over? Like now?”.  
  
Louis sits up in her bed, “Why, what's going on?”. “Nothing, just like I found a spell,” Harry explains vaguely, “For you. To help you come into your powers.”

It's a shit lie, even for Harry. There is only one reason Harry would call Louis in the middle of the night and invite her over. They both know it. They both wait silently on each end of the phone waiting for someone to say okay. To finally give in.  
  
“I'll be there in like 30 minutes yeah?” she says before hanging up.   
  
She pulls on some jeans and her vans before taking Zayn's car to drive over to Harry and Taylor's house. Her antique spoon tucked into her left pocket of her leather jacket and Cinnamon Sugar sleeping soundly in her right pocket. Louis keeps the heater on high but she can't stop shivering the whole time.

Louis has never been to Taylor and Harry's house this late at night before and waiting on the porch she feels scared in all the ways a person can be. The constant thump thump of her heart knowing what this means, could mean, might mean. Louis sends Harry a text to let her know she's outside and Harry quietly tip toes down stairs and opens the front door. 

“Hi,” she mouths silently and her hair is half up in a top knot and is wearing a mostly unbuttoned silk blouse with nothing underneath. Louis keeps her eyes on Harrys'. “Hi,” she mouths backs. They both stand their smiling like idiots until Harry takes Louis' hand and leads her quietly back to her room.

Every surface in Harry's bedroom is covered in burning candles; tiny little tea light candles and large fat pillar candles all stark white and warm and sickly vanilla scent. Harry has drawn a circle in the centre of her bedroom in salt and written incantations in chalk inside it. There a very old spell book open on Harry's bed filled with hundreds of bright yellow post it notes.

Harry has fairy lights strung up everywhere (of course), and a signed Rolling Stones poster above her desk. There are scarves, necklaces and jewelled rings on every hanging surface and framed photos on Harry's dresser of a teenage Harry with a older woman with dark hair and a girl with pink hair. Harry coughs behind Louis, “That my Mum. And my sister Gem.”

They look just like Harry or maybe Harry looks like them, Louis can't decide. The photo is at least 5 years old and she wonders how long it's been since Harry saw her family. “I like your bangs,” Louis says, “A bold look for you.”

Harry walks around the salt circle to the spell book on her bed and begins thumbing through her post it note tabs, “So the spell I found is essentially for welcoming new coven members. The new witch, in this case you, draws power from the other coven members to become more powerful. I figured maybe we could try with just us.”

She pauses and looks up at Louis, “Or the other girls. If you want.”

Louis carefully walks around the salt circle the same way Harry did. “No, I think I'd rather it was just us.”

Harry nods mostly to her self and begin dropping dried flowers and crystals inside the salt circle before stepping inside herself. “Okay,” she tells Louis, “Ready when you are.” Louis toes her shoes off and slips Cinnamon Sugar and her spoon out of her jacket pocket before hanging it over the end of Harry's bed frame. Cinnamon Sugar squirms inside Louis's hand, “It's alright,” she whispers stepping over the salt herself.

Salt granules crunch under Louis' bare feet and she sits crossed legged across from Harry. Harry's brow is furrowed in utmost concentration as she begins the spell, talking slowly in a lost language and then faster until Louis can only make out a few words. Harry's words fill the room and the dried flowers, lavender and sunflowers and daisies, begin to unfurl and replenish back into living flowers.

Louis sits open mouthed as the flowers bloom before her eyes, as the candles glow brighter and her hands begin to tingle and maybe this is it, maybe the spell will work and she will get her powers. Every word Harry says goes straight through her like gospel and she feels overwhelmed.

“Harry,” Louis whispers and Harry opens her eyes while still chanting. Her eyes go soft and she shoots Louis a look asking if she's okay and Louis nods. Harry reaches across the circle and grasp's Louis' other hand that isn't holding Cinnamon Sugar. It feels like the spell goes on forever, just the endless loop of Harry's soft honey and the hazy candles making every go soft at the edges.

It builds then and Harry holds Louis' hand tighter, if it's going to happen then it will happen any moment now. Louis squeezes back and shuts her eyes finally, waiting, waiting, waiting and then it's just over. 

“Lou,” Harry says slowly and Louis knows the spell hasn't worked, “Lou, I'm so sorry.”

They're still holding hands, salt sticking to the bottoms of their feet when Louis pulls herself to her feet and begins shrugging her jacket back on and tucking her mouse inside, “It's fine Harry. Really. You tried y'know.” Louis wants to get out of here. The sickly sweet heat of the candles and the big sad eyes Harry is making at her are making her want to throw up.

But Harry gets to the door before Louis and stands directly in front of it, “Lou, please don't go.” There is nowhere for Louis to look at except for the pale dip between Harry's breasts as she blinks back tears, “It's fine. Honestly, Harry.” But her voice wavers and they both hear it. 

 _It didn't work. It didn't work. It didn't work._ It's all Louis can hear above her heart pounding in her ears. She so desperately wanted this to work but she no longer knows if she mean's the spell or whatever is going on between her and Harry.

Harry tips Louis chin up to look at her, “Lou.” And then she kisses Louis softly on the mouth, she kisses like an apology, like she's sorry for all the ways she could hurt Louis. So Louis lets her and stands up on her toes to grip at the back of Harry's neck, twisting her hair just slightly because she can hurt and be hurt too.

Harry whines slightly as Louis tugs at her hair slightly too hard, pulling away for a moment, “Yeah?”.

“Yeah,” Louis replies like she could ever say no. Harry slips her hand into Louis' pocket and pulls out Cinnamon Sugar before gently placing her on a bundled up scarf on top of her dresser. She then turns back around and just as carefully takes Louis' jacket off and drops it in front of the door.

And then they're just looking at each other because this is what Louis came here for and this is going to happen. They can't go back now. Harry steps forward as Louis moves backwards towards the bed, their bare feet slip through the salt and the circle is broken.

Harry quickly slips Louis' shirt off and pushes her back onto the bed gently. Louis pushes her jeans down haphazardly and gestures to Harry to get on the bed. She's just standing there, lip worried between her teeth and hovering awkwardly at the foot of the bed. “Are you sure this is okay?” Harry asks politely but the way she is staring at Louis' body says otherwise.

“Harry,” Louis deadpans, “Yes. Please just fuck me okay?”. Harry nods dumbly and climbs onto the bed, situating herself fully clothed between Louis legs. But Louis is greedy and sad tonight so she bites at her chin messily and tugs at the fly on Harry's jeans. “Too tight,” she huffs, “Fucking hell.” Harry stops her hands and moves back to sit on her own thighs, undoing her jeans with ease and shimmying out of them.

Louis presses her knees back together as she feels too on display, already more wet than is subtle. Harry unbuttons the last three buttons on her blouse pulls it off too. She's not wearing a bra and her nipples are the same warm pink as her lips. She is beautiful with clothes on, she is beautiful with her clothes off, she is so much and Louis doesn't want to fuck this up. Louis pushes her knees closer together. 

“Just relax,” Harry whispers as she kisses Louis' right knee and slowly eases her legs open again. Harry mouths wetly at Louis thighs and the front of her underwear, making little pleased noises the whole time. There is nowhere for Louis to hide so she just lets her, lets Harry take her knickers off and lap at her with hard, flat strokes that go right to the centre of her.

Louis can only imagine how soppy and obvious she must be. “M'sorry. I get really wet sometimes.” Harry pulls back to look up at her, her mouth and chin shiny with Louis' wetness, “I like it. Don't be sorry.” And then she pushes her face against Louis and sucks hard at her clit like she can't believe Louis is letting her do this. Louis kinda can't believe she is either.

Louis doesn't know what to with her hands except bury them in Harry's hair and tug gently and then not so gently when Harry pushes two fingers inside her. She moves them almost all the way back out and then in again, curling them deftly until Louis wants to cry. Harry is good at this in a way that Louis expected but never prepared herself for. She continues clutching at Harry's hair and grinding herself against her face. Harry doesn't seem to mind as she moans against Louis when she pulls too hard on her hair, rubbing herself off on the bed messily as she eats Louis out.

She feels herself getting close when Harry pulls back and rests her head on Louis thigh. “Is it okay if I finish you with just my fingers? I want to see your face when you come,” she pants. Louis nods and pulls Harry up to kiss her, open mouthed and sticky and so much better than she ever imagined.

Louis lifts her leg up so Harry can continue rutting against her thigh with her underwear still on as she slips her fingers back inside Louis. Harry's hips are moving in sloppy figure eights as she fingers Louis slowly, building back up again. Her top knot is an absolute mess from Louis tugging at it but she beams dumbly down at Louis like she's the best thing she's ever seen. It's so...

“So good,” Harry verbalises as if she knows exactly what Louis is trying to say. They stay like that for a moment, wrapped in each other without words until Louis pinches hard at Harry's nipple and Harry's hips stutter roughly against her thigh. She smiles smugly and pulls her in for a kiss as both Harry's hips and her fingers inside Louis speed up.

Louis' thigh is wet enough from Harry now that she works herself easily even through her underwear, panting wetly into Louis neck. Louis is close enough that she can feel herself tightening, Harry's rings grazing her sharply. “Harry,” she warns but Harry already knows, of course she does, and has lifted her head up to watch Louis. Pink cheeked and panting and solely focused on Louis. As always.

The candles behind Harry's head blur in Louis' vision somehow brighter than before. And then she comes hard and nothing but light fills the room for a moment before everything goes dark as all the candles blow out at once. “Fuck,” Harry gasps as she comes against her thigh and both Louis's eyes and the sheets are wet. “It's okay,” she says dumbly petting at the back of Harry's head, “it's okay.”

Harry becomes a dead weight on top of Louis, her body a comforting weight against Louis as she slowly comes back to herself. She's tracing tiny stars on Louis' collarbones with her index finger and humming something too quietly for Louis to make out.

At once the magnitude of what they have done hits Louis.

God, this was so selfish and stupid. Even for her. What if Taylor heard them? What if the whole coven finds out? What if it becomes obvious how much she loves Harry?

“I have to go,” Louis says suddenly. “What?” asks Harry, looking up at her sleepily. Her features switching from happy and soft to a sharp peak of worry. Louis starts to shuffle out from under her, “I have to go Harry.” Harry's brow furrows, “No you don't okay. It's late. Just, like, stay the night okay?”.

But Louis is shaking her head and looking for her underwear (It's on a lamp shade. Great.) and slipping them on with one hand while she tries to locate her bra. “I can't stay, I'm sorry but I need to go.”

Harry is following her around the room now, clearly upset as they speak in hushed whispers. Louis has given up on finding her bra and tugs her shirt on. “Don't do this Louis,” Harry pleads, “Please.” Louis tries to explain why she has to leave, just stupid inane excuses that sound fake and hollow. 

She's being that person. She's being that person who fucks someone and leaves right afterwards. She hates that person but maybe that is who she is deep down. Louis slips her shoes on without undoing the laces, “Harry.” And oh god here it comes, “This was a bad idea.”

Harry's eyes start to well up, these big awful sobs, “Don't fucking lie. Don't fucking lie to me right now Louis. You wanted this just as much as me.” And Louis did, Louis does.

“I'm sorry Harry,” she whispers and then she closes Harry's bedroom door behind her as she leaves. She drives all the way home and pulls over when she realises she left Cinnamon Sugar sleeping in Harry's scarf. Only then does she start to cry, ugly heavy sobbing in a parked car with no bra on. She feels less than witch, less than human.

\---------------------------------  
  
When Louis wakes up the next morning her bedroom is filled with hundred of sunflowers and daisies. Growing from inside her shoes, wrapped around her bed frame, stuffed into the pockets of her jackets on the back of her door. It's so much yellow and gold it's like she is living inside the sun.

Harry must have done this she figures, the entire thing is so tangibly good and kind that it reeks of Harry. So Louis stuffs as many of the flowers as she can inside a trash bag and leaves the rest to rot in her bedroom. She dumps the flowers in the trash on her way to work. She thought it would somehow be cathartic and make her feel better but it really doesn't.

She works her shift at the candle shop and burns rosemary and sage to try and cleanse her bad spirits but they still seem to be wrapped tightly around her gut. It's all just busy work and she ends up staying late to clean up and honestly just avoid going home. Zayn will know by now, her body can sense when Louis has done some spectacular fuck up. It must be one of her powers.

The entire day feels off. Louis hurtles around like she's on autopilot, as if someone else is driving her body. Her mind is a continuous loop of don't think about her, don't think about her, don't think about her. But it's all she thinks about. The softness of Harry's mouth on her inner thigh. The rock salt stuck to their skin from the spell. Harry's sad eyes when Louis told her it was a mistake. It all plays behind Louis' eyes over and over like her very own sad film. 

Louis closes up and goes to the bathroom to wash her hands before leaving. When she looks in the mirror she nearly jumps back. Her hair. It's grown. In the past 6 hours her chin length hair has grown at least 8 inches. Louis yanks hard at her hair and the tug stings at her roots.

Harry wouldn't do this. She can't think of a single witch who would do this to her. Louis scoops all of her new hair up into a bun so she doesn't have to think about it. She'll just cut it off with some kitchen scissors when she get's home. Problem solved.

If only all her problems could be solved with a handy pair of kitchen scissors.

As she walks home from work Louis checks her phone for the first time all day after deliberately turning it off this morning. Harry hasn't called or texted her once. Which is both a relief and also deeply painful. She only has one rather ominous text message from Zayn which reads “we need to talk”.

Louis stuff hers phone back in her bag. It's almost evening but it's already dark out but she still sees them behind her. The actual gang of cats who appear to be following her. Louis frowns at the motley bunch of at least 7 stray cats nipping at her heels and meowing out to her.

Even for a witch this is kinda weird. She crosses the road to try and lose them but they all just dart across the road after her. Louis starts jogging to try and ditch the cats who appear to have multiplied but the cats begin running after, meowing louder than ever. “Leave me alone!” she shouts over her shoulder at them as she nears closer to her house, “Get out of here you stupid cats!”.

She is proper running by the time she gets home, sprinting up the front stairs and slamming the door behind her before the cats can get in. Louis peeks out of their peep hole and sees about fifteen cats meandering around on the front porch and scratching at the door for her. Louis thinks about calling Taylor because if anyone knows how to handle horde of cats it's Taylor but then she remembers y'know how she slept with Taylor's roommate and then left in the middle of the night and figures she better not.

Zayn is in the lounge room and she shoots Louis a look which means two things: she knows and Louis is in for it. “What the fuck Lou,” is how she starts the conversation. Zayn's wearing dark lipstick and her eyebrows are so good today that it's honestly just adding to how shit Louis feels right now. “I know,” is all Louis can say.

And then Louis spills everything while tucked into Zayn's side on their couch. About the witch lessons and Harry's failed spell and Cinnamon Sugar and her leaving Harry. “I just left,” she mumbles, “And I hate myself. She must hate me too.”

Zayn fusses with Louis' hair, “She doesn't. She's just upset.” Louis knows Zayn is right because she has the power of premonition and knows exactly what is going to happen but it isn't comforting. “Is everything going to work out?” Louis asks and Zayn gives a non-committal noise, “You know I can't tell you that Lou.”

Louis sniffles miserably. “What I can tell you though,” Zayn continues, “Is that your fears of hurting Harry are hurting her more than you actually ever could. She's not as vulnerable as you think. She moved here all on her own when she was 17 and found a job to put herself through school.”

“Did you have a premonition about that?”

“No, you knob, I just had a conversation with Harry.”

The conversation feels moot from there on so Louis ends up going to bed early. She scrolls through Harry's instagram before falling asleep. It's all black and white except for one photo posted this morning of sunflowers. Louis likes the photo and falls asleep.

\---------------------------------------

  
On Wednesday Louis cleans the rest of flowers out of her room and they fill three trash cans. She misses Harry. She misses Harry so much and it's only been 2 days. She just wants to talk to her once, just on the phone, just for a moment.

It's Wednesday which means tonight is their weekly coven meeting but Louis can't face Harry or the other witches. Taylor must know by now. Nick probably does too because he's a gossip and loves any coven drama. She can't stand the idea of having to pretend everything's fine all evening.

Louis decides to go grocery shopping instead.

It happens when she's in the freezer aisle, she's leaning into the giant freezer for a frozen pizza and then suddenly she not in the supermarket anymore. She's in a house she doesn't recognise and a woman with dark hair is crying. “How could you do this to us?” the woman keeps asking and Louis has no idea what is going on.

The woman wipes at her eyes and Louis can see her face more clearly now as if the room is coming into focus. She recognises her instantly from the photos in Harry's bedroom. It's Harry's Mum, she's in Harry's house. Louis looks down at her hands and they're not her hands, they're bigger and she has a small cross tattooed where her thumb and finger join.

Louis walks across the room and looks in a mirror hanging above the mantle. Her face is Harry's face. Harry's sixteen year old face with bangs and thick eyeliner and full cheeks. “Harry, look at me,” the woman shrieks behind her and Louis spins around.

“You can't be a witch. We won't allow it in this house.”

“But she, I mean, I can't help it,” Louis stutters. The woman's shoulders slouch, “Harry we love you but we can't support this. You can't stay under this roof if you're going to be one of. One of them.” Louis feels her eyes well up, it's not her emotions it's Harrys' over riding the memory but she feels them just the same. The sharpness of her pain, the hollow sadness of it all.

“Where will I go?” Louis asks. The woman's eyes go cold, “That is not my problem anymore Harry.”

And it feels like an absolute punch to the gut, so visceral. Harry's Mother looks so much like her, same dark hair, same mouth, but Harry could never hurt someone like this. Harry would never hurt Louis like this and Louis understands now what everyone meant when they told her Harry was stronger than she thought.

“I have to go,” Louis says to the woman but mostly to herself and then the room is fading out and she's back in the supermarket clutching a froze pizza with numb hands.

Louis looks at her reflection in the freezer glass and she's Louis again only with her longer hair. Her hands are almost frozen from being inside the freezer so long but the rest of her is warm. The rest of her is glowing and she thinks this is it. Louis drops the pizza and looks up to the fluorescent lighting. She flicks her wrist upwards and in one small motion all the fluorescent tubes explode and the glass falls down on her like tiny shards of glitter.

Of all the ways Louis has imagined getting her powers trying to buy a frozen pizza was not one of them. She has imagined this scenario thousands of times and she never envisioned it in a supermarket in the dark with her hands smelling of pepperoni. It feels perfect though. It feels meant to be and she wishes Harry was here to share it with her.   
  
Because it all comes back to Harry, of course it does. She knew it from the moment they met. Before Louis knows it she's walked out of the supermarket and she's running down the street. Her body is moving by it's own free will like a reflex memory taking her to where she needs to be.

And then Louis is at The Lot. Their Lot. And Harry is already there, just standing on this side of the fence looking in. All the sunflowers are gone but the lot is filled with Louis' daisies now. She thinks about how Harry once told Louis she grew flowers for her and now Louis thinks yeah me too.

Harry finally turns to look at Louis and they just smile at each other. Louis doesn't think she could speak even if she wanted to right now but Harry just knows. Harry knows that Louis is in love with her and was just too scared to say it. That she isn't scared now. That she is never going to leave again.

Oh god and that she's sorry, she's so so sorry for everything. But she's here now and she grew daisies for Harry and she'll grow any flower, vegetable or cactus that Harry wants forever.  The flowers in her bedroom. The cats. Her hair. It was Louis all along coming into her powers. But Harry made it happen for her. She waited so long for her powers because she needed to meet Harry first. Harry is her catalyst. Her familiar. Her other half.

They don't say anything aloud for a moment and then Harry slips her hand into Louis' and gives one reassuring squeeze to say  _it's okay, I forgive you, I love you too._ “How did you know I'd be here?” Harry asks and Louis can't help herself, has to rise up on her toes and kiss her soundly on the mouth.

“Just magic I guess.”

 

 


End file.
